Greenhithe — Hartley (Sevenoaks)
Grehar two
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Grehar here.
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Grehar here.
By Daisy C on 04 Apr 2024
Description
This is a re-worked version of GreHar 1, a good route with some flaws. The first third is pavements, sometimes residential but mostly the fast and multi-lane B255. From Bean to Longfield Station (the actual destination not Hartley) is mostly off road with very lovely sections across rolling hills. The land use is mostly sheep and arable with a few scattered woodlands. There is road walking within the villages but never for long and they are fairly quiet.
There's a small detour through Beacon Woods Country Park in Bean, to decompress after the B255, using their Red Walk as internal paths aren't shown well on maps. There is a long flight of earth and plank steps as you leave, you could avoid them by staying on Bean's main road instead.
Mostly field public footpaths through fields to Southfleet where a friendly local showed me an easier alternative to GreHar 1 which includes a short permissive path not on maps. It's on a bank beside a short part of Hook Green Road with no pavement and is clearly well used. It's mown "a few times a year", presumably by the parish council, but if the "weeds" are too tall the friendly local walks happily along the road instead with her son and seven month puppy. At the southern edge of Southfleet another bit of Hook Green Road, about 200m, has no pavement but it felt safe with better sightlines and a verge you could climb up at a push.
There are midroute stopping places at Bean (pub, shop, bus stop and many benches inside Beacon Woods Country Park), Betsham (bus stop with a bench), Southfleet (bus stop, the Ship Inn, both just off the route). The friendly local recommended The Ship Inn. Buses are infrequent with none on Sundays.
Greenhithe has a MacDonalds and Asda. The trains are very frequent as are buses to Bluewater Shopping Centre the local bus hub. Longfield has a decent high street with cafes, pub, Costa, bakery, chip shops, Co-op and Waitrose. Some buses run from Longfield, which has two trains an hour but on Sundays only one and no buses.
There are stairs, kissing and non-kissing gates, steep slopes but no stiles. Limited mud especially on the rutted farm tracks between Southfleet and Longfield. A path near Bean was uneven with animal holes and ruts hidden in grass
This is a re-worked version of GreHar 1, a good route with some flaws. The first third is pavements, sometimes residential but mostly the fast and multi-lane B255. From Bean to Longfield Station (the actual destination not Hartley) is mostly off road with very lovely sections across rolling hills. The land use is mostly sheep and arable with a few scattered woodlands. There is road walking within the villages but never for long and they are fairly quiet.
There's a small detour through Beacon Woods Country Park in Bean, to decompress after the B255, using their Red Walk as internal paths aren't shown well on maps. There is a long flight of earth and plank steps as you leave, you could avoid them by staying on Bean's main road instead.
Mostly field public footpaths through fields to Southfleet where a friendly local showed me an easier alternative to GreHar 1 which includes a short permissive path not on maps. It's on a bank beside a short part of Hook Green Road with no pavement and is clearly well used. It's mown "a few times a year", presumably by the parish council, but if the "weeds" are too tall the friendly local walks happily along the road instead with her son and seven month puppy. At the southern edge of Southfleet another bit of Hook Green Road, about 200m, has no pavement but it felt safe with better sightlines and a verge you could climb up at a push.
There are midroute stopping places at Bean (pub, shop, bus stop and many benches inside Beacon Woods Country Park), Betsham (bus stop with a bench), Southfleet (bus stop, the Ship Inn, both just off the route). The friendly local recommended The Ship Inn. Buses are infrequent with none on Sundays.
Greenhithe has a MacDonalds and Asda. The trains are very frequent as are buses to Bluewater Shopping Centre the local bus hub. Longfield has a decent high street with cafes, pub, Costa, bakery, chip shops, Co-op and Waitrose. Some buses run from Longfield, which has two trains an hour but on Sundays only one and no buses.
There are stairs, kissing and non-kissing gates, steep slopes but no stiles. Limited mud especially on the rutted farm tracks between Southfleet and Longfield. A path near Bean was uneven with animal holes and ruts hidden in grass
Status
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Information
Route status - Live
Reviews - 1
Average rating -
Is this route good enough? - Yes (1)
There are currently no problems reported with this route.
Downloads - 0
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Geography information system (GIS) data
Total length
Maximum elevation
Minimum elevation
Start and end points
Greenhithe
Grid Ref
Lat / Lon
51.45067° / 0.28020°
Easting / Northing
0E / 0N
What3Words
rival.hint.haven
Hartley (Sevenoaks)
Grid Ref
TQ6012168869
Lat / Lon
51.39627° / 0.30029°
Easting / Northing
560,121E / 168,870N
What3Words
tile.sugars.plots
Greenhithe | |
---|---|
Grid Ref | |
Lat / Lon | 51.45067° / 0.28020° |
Easting / Northing | 0E / 0N |
What3Words | rival.hint.haven |
Hartley (Sevenoaks) | |
---|---|
Grid Ref | TQ6012168869 |
Lat / Lon | 51.39627° / 0.30029° |
Easting / Northing | 560,121E / 168,870N |
What3Words | tile.sugars.plots |
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review
Daisy C
01 Apr 2024 (edited 04 Apr 2024)The first part from Greenhithe to Bean felt very long: there is a lot of walking on the pavement largely on the dreary, fast B255, although towards Greenhithe the parallel roads were better. It's probably unavoidable given the layout of major roads and former quarries. From Bean to Longfield was much more pleasant; 4 stars, sometimes 5. Small villages, grazing sheep, rolling chalk hillsides and wide valleys.
Highlights of the day: Views from the highest parts of the B255 (photo 1), Beacon Woods Country Park where I didn't see signs of hazel dormice but did find reindeer lichens (photos 2-4), early spring blossom and lambs, the views coming down toward Betsham (photos 5, 6), a sine-wave brick wall in Betsham (photo 7), human faces on oast windvanes in Southfleet (local celebrities?), cowslips, wood anemones, butchers broom and bluebells hidden in a boundary woodland strip, skylarks and long views from The Gallops above Longfield (photo 14) although it wasn't clear enough to see the towers of Central London this time.
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